Unit 3

Chapter Six

Coastal Plains and Islands

generation the average time between the birth of parents and the birth of their children
marsh a low, wet land where cattails, tall grasses, and other similar plants grow
plantation huge farms

growing season  

the time when the weather is warm enough for plants to grow
swamp
 a low, wet area where trees and bushes grow
food processing

the cooking, canning, drying, or freezing of food and the preparing of it for market
textile

cloth
pulp 

a soft mixture of ground-up wood chips and chemicals that is used to make paper
renewable resource

a resource that can be used again or made again by people in nature
Sun Belt a wide area of the United States that has a mild climate all year
tourist someone who travels to a place for pleasure
tourism the selling of goods and services to tourists
inlet a narrow strip of water leading into the land from a larger body of water

bayou

a slow-moving body of water
petroleum

oil

crude oil

the name given to petroleum pumped from the ground
nonrenewable resource a resource that cannot be made again by nature or by people
refinery a factory that turns crude oil into useful products such as gasoline and other fuels
petrochemical a chemical made from oil
hurricane huge storm with heavy rains and high winds
cross section a slice or piece cut straight across something
cross section diagram a drawing that shows what you would see if you could slice through something and then look at the cut surface
barrier island low, narrow islands that are near a coast
mainland the continent or the part of a continent nearest to an island
legend a story that has come down from the past
strait a narrow channel that connects two larger bodies of water
coral a stony material formed by the skeletons of tiny sea animals
reef a ridge of rocks, sand, or coral near the surface of the sea
tropics a band of warm climate that circles the Earth near the equator
territory a place owned and governed by a country
commonwealth a territory that governs itself